Early Beginnings
by TobiasHawk1
Summary: Cinder Fall meets a man by the name of Roman Torchwick. He's a good pickpocket, but does he have the drive to further their cause?
1. Chapter 1

She'd found him pickpocketing older people and scamming kids late one afternoon. He'd wave them over to his corner with a flourish of his hands, entice them with a few cleverly woven words and ensnare them like a fly in a web. She watched at a considerable distance, the sleight of hand necessary to snatch the Lien from a leather wallet easily visible from her vantage point.

He was scruffy, unkempt, orange hair, beard and tattered clothes; a symbol of his status in the Valean social order. His attitude read as if of a different genre entirely, literate and articulate, he could've just as easily been born a noble of honor and class. She studied him as a lioness studies her prey before a pounce.

Finally, when she saw her opportunity, she approached him brusquely, and waited for his last victim to leave."Hello, Miss! Care for a quick demonstration?" He bowed low before coming up to talk here hand- her right, watch hand, of course.

"Hmm… I don't think so." She pulled her hand away, just out of reach of the turquoise-eyed thief. She could tell he's felt put out at missing the steal.

"It'll just take a minute of your time. I insist." His talk was grandiose, but she saw through it with impunity

She'd entertain him.

"You have my attention." The grin could hardly keep from plastering itself on her face.

"Splendid! Come, come here and I'll guess your weight." It was a simple scam. An efficient one as well.

He stood her on a mat painted with a set of footprints. Guiding her to his preferred location, slightly out of the way of prying eyes, his hand rested on her shoulder. She knew he was feeling for a chain or string of some kind. It wasn't uncommon for individuals to carry items of importance around their necks. He found none, not even a necklace adorned her these days. Without hesitation, he slid his fingertips down her arms, using the movement to take her hands in a friendly display of interest, almost entirely disguising his search for her wallet. His trained hands slid down her sides, across her waist band and down her outer thighs, searching for every likely hiding spot. Knees, calves, shoes. All disguised as some act to guess her weight, it made sense to obtain some idea of the dimensions of what he was trying to guess. Once found, he'd likely start some others scam to focus on the prey he'd located. She almost felt pity for the guy as he returned from his searching.

"One hundred thirty three?"

"Thirty seven," she purred softly, wallet firmly in hand as she displayed it to him. Where she'd procured it from, he'd never know. "I could use someone like you."

"Not interested," he glared at her. Getting scammed out of his own scam was something a scammer never took lightly.

"Not even for your Lien?" She held the small pouch he'd been keeping his stolen treasure in before him. He scoffed before snatching it, only to realize the pouch was devoid of any currency. "You could spend the rest of the afternoon trying to win it back… or you could come with me and make this pocket change in minutes." Her voice was a sultry purr that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. It left him with the idea that he actually had a choice, but he knew instantly behind that purr there was something much more dangerous than a Grimm waiting to strike.

She turned heel and walked away without another word, already certain he'd follow her.

He did.

"What's your name?" He hurried behind her, avoiding eye contact with the crowd they walked through, just in case any of his victims had yet noticed their lack of Lien.

"Cinder Fall."

"Roman Torchwick."

"Hmm… Roman." His name rolled off the tip of her tongue as if he no longer owned it.

_What am I getting myself in to?_


	2. Chapter 2

It took about a month to train him. To break him out of the mindset of a petty thief and mold him into a proper criminal. It wasn't hard, the man had a talent for theft on any scale. It was something about the way his hands moved that made it easy to lose track of them while he held your attention. It was nothing Cinder couldn't easily predict, but a beautiful talent they could hone nonetheless.

He was cruel and quick, the streets not exactly having been kind to him. He was able to hold his own in a fight with some of the biggest street thugs Cinder could find, and he was absolutely deadly when wielding a broomstick. Preferring to use it as a walking stick, he walked with swagger into any altercation, dispatching his enemies with incredibly timed strikes and well placed blocks. He was perfect for the mission Cinder had, although he'd be but a pawn.

She crafted Melodic Cudgel from scratch, watching his eyes light up as he took the weight between his fingers, twirling the cane like a baton. "Am I missing something, or do you still not have a weapon yet?"

"You're missing something." She smirked, walking away with a away of her hips that could've snapped the necks of a dozen men.

He'd also taken an affinity to expensive cigars and eyeliner. For the early phases of her plan, he was rising up a hefty expense, still second only to Mercury's food bill.

"Our first hit will be tomorrow." Cinder's voice was cool, sultry, and commanding. The sound of her heels striking the ground as she moved towards him added emphasis to her every word.

"Can you at least tell me what we're stealing all this Dust for?" He was eager to actually be a part of her plan.

She ignored him, walking away with the same enticing walk with which she'd approached. He'd do the job regardless of the information he'd receive. And she was sure her investment in him would pay off.


End file.
